


The Soulmark

by Beth51276



Category: Victoria (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:15:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26329264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beth51276/pseuds/Beth51276
Summary: William Lamb had never been soul-bonded.  When he begins to bond with the young Queen Victoria despite her having no soulmark, he is painfully torn between love and duty.
Relationships: William Lamb 2nd Viscount Melbourne & Victoria of the United Kingdom (1819-1901), William Lamb 2nd Viscount Melbourne/Victoria of the United Kingdom (1819-1901)
Comments: 67
Kudos: 50





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to my new multi-chapter. This prologue is short, just a short world-building intro.

Not every woman was born with a soulmark. It had never bothered William that he and Caro were not bonded. He had loved her all the same. He had been hurt and humiliated by her affair with Byron, but in the end, he could never bring himself to fully forsake her. It was never in his nature to turn his back on those he loved. Caro had still needed him and never refused him during her Times.  
  
The Time was both a blessing and curse. The Time usually happened for the first time around a woman’s twentieth year. Only during the Time, was a woman fertile, and must be mated frequently or suffer greatly over a period of days. A soulmarked woman often refused a man not her mate. But the Time only came every five years and mercifully spaced out children for couples.

Caro had only conceived once more following Augustus, a baby girl that she could not carry to term. Melbourne had sobbed helplessly as the poor child died in his arms, too small to survive.

Caro’s health declined in the years following the loss of their daughter and he found himself a shockingly young widower. Melbourne mourned her loss, especially felt the guilt of what could have been. Still and all, he was grateful for not having been bonded to her. He would have been unable to withstand her infidelity and her death would have destroyed him. Augustus needed him.

Men did not have soulmate marks. If they bonded with someone, it was through marking their mate with a unique body scent. The bonding instinct was more than an overwhelming sexual attraction; it was a connection that did not require words. It was an overwhelming instinct to protect, as well as territorial urges. Once it begun in a man, it could not be stopped.  
  
Melbourne was heartbroken when Augustus died in his arms. The world had lost all color, and life all meaning. For some time he had wondered why he had even served a second term as Prime Minister. It was a feeling he still had the morning he shook off yet another night in his chair after too much brandy and mounted his horse to ride for Kensington to meet the new young Queen England had awoken to.

  
Alexandrina’s first reaction was that he quite literally stole her breath as he knelt before her and kissed her hand. He was middle-aged, and yet his clothes still fit his fine figure beautifully. His curling hair was still full and dark with only the faintest traces of gray. He had gentle, kind green eyes. And he smelled of sandalwood and citrus. He possessed a gorgeous patina that a younger man simply could not have. She knew her experience was sorely limited, but she could not have imagined a more handsome and dashing man than the Prime Minister. Lord Melbourne was simply the most breathtaking man she had ever seen. It was quite no wonder then that he was “disreputable,” as Lehzen had termed it.

But that was not what shocked her the most. She trusted him. Alexandrina never trusted anyone. The closest she came to trusting anyone was Lehzen, and even Lehzen treated her as a little girl. But no one else. Not ever. Not her simpering fool of a mother, and never that opportunistic viper Sir John.

But she instinctively knew this man would never, ever treat her as though she were too female, too short, too stupid. She knew he would always be kind and gentle with her. It would be a vicious pleasure to inform her Mama and that awful snake that she had already selected a Private Secretary and it would never be Sir John Conroy.

To her surprise, she even felt a lessening of the oppressive loneliness that had smothered her every day in the dreariness of Kensington upon meeting Lord Melbourne. Kensington was no place for a Queen. It was no place for her.

Oddly enough, she agreed with Sir John on one salient point. Her regnal name could not be Alexandrina. She had always hated it, anyway. Tomorrow she would inform Lord Melbourne that going forward she wished to be known as Queen Victoria.

She was tiny, almost childlike at no more than five feet tall. She had shining brown hair and enormous blue eyes in a face of doll-like prettiness. And she smelled divinely of jasmine. She was stunningly beautiful in a winsome and girlish way. Though everything about her was delicate, she carried herself like a queen. She had a regality about her that simply could not be taught.

Though Melbourne knew him but little, he had never liked Sir John Conroy. Everything about him said scheming opportunist. The fact that the man waylaid him outside of Kensington before he could even speak to the Queen? Well,it made Melbourne take notice. He didn’t like what he saw at all. Melbourne had immediately gleaned that the young Princess Alexandrina had been kept isolated in the hopes of making her dependent upon her mother and Conroy once she ascended to the throne. He found himself grateful to the King for managing to live past the Princess’s majority, thus thwarting their plans.

His first instinct upon meeting her was to protect her, especially from Sir John Conroy. There would be others to protect her from as well, those who would underestimate her because of her sex, because of her age.  
  
Despite all the demands on his time, he wanted to be the one to help her, and in order to do that, he must be at the top of his game. He had only slightly surprised himself when he offered to be her Private Secretary.  
  
To the shock of his valet, he demanded clean linens for his bed. Being at his best meant no longer sleeping in his chair, and it also meant no more brandy until he passed out. He was needed. His Queen needed him. For the first time since that terrible day the small coffin had disappeared into the ground, William Lamb felt a purpose.


	2. Lord M

Victoria had been at the window watching Lord Melbourne dismount from his horse and sprint up the steps of Kensington.Without even realizing what she was doing, she swiftly patted at her hair and straightened the bodice of her dress.

“The Right Honorable Lord Melbourne, Your Majesty,” announced Penge.

He had proven his trustworthiness, she thought, as he knelt before her.Her mother and Sir John had lurked in the corner of her Privy Council meeting, waiting with bated breath for her to make a fool of herself.Without any words, the Prime Minister managed to reassure her with a mere nod of his head. 

_You can do this. You are a Queen_.

Then he had stood at her head and proven his worth beyond that of all the jewels in the very Crown.

Now she sought his opinion on a much more personal matter.She must put space between herself and her mother and Sir John.She shuddered at his recent displays of temper; his height, looming over her in his fury that she would dare to meet her ministers alone.His outrage that she would she would choose Lord Melbourne as her Private Secretary upon her very first meeting with him.His sneering contempt that she would disregard his perfect choice of regnant name.

Her mother either blatantly sided with him or acted baffled and upset that her daughter would make her own choices with no regard to Sir John’s wishes.She must never allow them to see how much they have affected her.

_“But Drina, think about everything he has done for us! Sir John has been such a loyal friend to us both.”_

_“No, Mama,” replied Victoria firmly. “He has always been **your** friend, not mine.”_

Just once, she longed for her mother to side with her.But instead she ignored the tears Victoria had shed over her mother’s indifference.Her mother had never protected her from Sir John’s cruelty, and had indeed defended it.She had even fed her insecurities.Her plainness, her stature, even her voice were even targets as it became clear that five feet would be as tall as she would ever be.

“Lord Melbourne, I have summoned you here for your advice on a more personal matter.”

“Your Majesty honors me with such a request.”

Victoria drew a deep breath.“It is my mother and Sir John Conroy.They will not leave me alone.Only this morning Sir John shouted at me for meeting with the Archbishop unaccompanied. He yet insists upon accompanying me while I meet with my ministers.I still hear whispers between them about a regency, Lord Melbourne.”

“Forgive me, Ma’am, but did you say that he shouted at you?”

“Oh yes, Lord Melbourne,” Victoria replied absentmindedly, “it has always been his way whenever I have done something to displease him.Mama has never done anything to stop him, of course.But surely I may place some distance between us now?”

Melbourne, normally a man of quite placid temperament, realized that he had clenched his hand into a fist at his Queen’s description of Conroy’s behavior.It was a common occurrence for this man to shout at the young heiress?That the Queen felt it nothing out of the ordinary for this man to treat her this way?He felt contempt, too, at the Duchess of Kent for permitting it. He forced himself back into calm, for this line of thinking was not of aid to his Queen.

“If I may, there are two things that I might suggest, Your Majesty?”

“I would be most open to any you might have, Lord Melbourne.”

“Your apartments at Kensington are quite small to offer you the privacy you seek.As monarch, the Crown properties are at your disposal.Might I suggest Buckingham House?You would be able to have your own household much more separate from that of your mother’s as Buckingham is quite large.As for Sir John Conroy, you are Queen.Whatever he has done in the past, you need not tolerate him now.Also...bide your time, if I may say so, Ma’am.”

“Bide my time?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” replied Melbourne. “If you’re no longer isolated at Kensington, then neither is he.He will be under the full scrutiny of the court.He will make errors in his behavior, no doubt.”

“I would like to go tomorrow then, Lord Melbourne.I find myself most anxious to take leave of this place.No doubt Mama will protest, but I have never been happy here.I am eager for my own household, my own apartments.” 

The Queen’s exuberance was contagious, as Melbourne felt his own contentment in her realization at the changes she could make.She finally had choices, and he damned both the Duchess and Conroy for never allowing her any choices to begin with.What he really wanted to do was ensure Conroy took a long trip back to Ireland and never came back.His thoughts were interrupted by his Queen.

“As for Sir John, I will take your advice, Lord Melbourne.I have borne his presence for this long.I suppose I can suffer his presence longer, especially with some distance.”

“It’s a bit like playing cards, Ma’am.”

Victoria’s brows furrowed. “Whatever do you mean?”

Melbourne leant down slightly, as if sharing a confidence.“Don’t ever let anyone else see your hand, Ma’am.”

Silvery laughter pealed and Melbourne couldn’t help but chuckle in kind.

_Lovely man_ , thought Victoria.He was so dashing in his dark coat and top hat as they rode towards Buckingham House.Her trust in him had yet to be unfounded as his actions demonstrated loyalty and his advice was everything sound. 

It was difficult not to be flustered in such close proximity.This, too, was a novelty.His scent was even more pronounced- sandalwood, citrus, and today she thought she detected the barest hint of cinnamon.

She could barely contain her excitement as her Prime Minister shared bits of history of what was to be her new primary residence.Here, she would finally have the privacy she had been denied for so long.

As she had predicted, Mama had been most upset about the impending move.

_“But Drina, I see no need to leave Kensington.We have all been so happy here.”_

_Victoria ignored that, clenching her jaw in frustration.“Yes, Mama.But I am Queen now.The apartments will simply not suit.”Her countenance brightened, an idea forming.“Why, I will have to host heads of state now.What on earth would Uncle Leopold say if I received him here when I could receive him in the throne room at Buckingham House?”_

_The Duchess finally looked mollified at that, knowing her brother insisted on all the traditions of rank.“I suppose you are right, Drina.It would not do to grant your uncle anything less than he deserves.”_

_Victoria turned to her mother with a wide smile. “Exactly.”_

Funny how Uncle Leopold should be granted his due whilenothing at all should change for her.But she had won that battle with very little effort on her part.

It was hard not to stare as Lord Melbourne held his hand out to her to help her from the carriage.He had touched her upon greeting, of course, with the traditional kissing of her hand.But this was a far more intimate gesture.Her stomach flipped as she placed her gloved hand in his and stepped down.

The only man Victoria had been around with any sort of regularity was Sir John.Sir John’s voice was harsh, snarling.Lord Melbourne’s was gentle, almost caressing, even in its raspiness.Lord Melbourne was also wonderfully handsome and never used his height to intimidate her.Instead, his height made her feel....safe.

Sparkling.It was a word Melbourne never expected to use when describing his monarch.From her silvery laughter to the awe in her expression as they approached Buckingham House to the delight she took in her new home, it was utterly endearing.

 _She_ was sparkling.

Even her wry humor at her own expense in the throne room bubbled through his veins like champagne.It would never do to laugh, for he already knew his Queen was sensitive about her petite stature, but her tiny feet dangling above the floor charmed him in a way few things had in a very long time.It was all he could do not to smile.

Though Melbourne was an experienced courtier, and an even more experienced politician, he could not entirely hide his discomfort at being alone with the Queen in her new bedchamber.Her sheltered innocence took center stage as she joyously inspected her new apartments with no thought of being alone with a man.

“At least here I’ll be completely separate from Mama,” declared Victoria, taking a seat in a chair.“I can’t have Sir John hovering about me all the time!”

_Why would she say that in her bedchamber of all places?What went on at Kensington?_

“I believe the Duchess relies on Conroy a good deal.He’s been handling her affairs for some time,” replied Melbourne carefully.

“They all think that because I’m small that I’m still a child,” snapped Victoria, eyes blazing.“They’ve always underestimated me.They expect me to fail.They don’t believe me capable of being Queen.”Her shoulders seemed to droop a bit at this last statement, almost dejected.

Melbourne knew then that he would do anything to serve and protect her, his Queen, this proud young woman who had been almost certainly mistreated by those she should have been able to trust the most.Conroy had likely been telling her for years that she would never be taken seriously as the monarch.

“I think they’re mistaken, Ma’am.And anyone who dares comment on your stature should be sent straight to the Tower!”

“You don’t think I’m too short to be dignified?”

“To me, Ma’am, you are every inch a Queen.”

“Lord Melbourne, when we first met, you offered to be my Private Secretary, and I accepted.Had it been anyone else, I would have declined.For some reason, I felt I could trust you.”

“And I am honored by that trust, Your Majesty.”

“You must understand, Lord Melbourne,” she said quietly. “I never trust anyone.Not ever.But something inside of me tells me that I can trust you.”

Melbourne felt a true kindred spirit with her then.She was lonely.He understood loneliness to a heartbreaking extent.How unfair that this young girl understand it so keenly as well.

“I believe that trust is a very precious thing.Loyalty as well, Ma’am.”

He had a task ahead of him.She was a true credit to the monarchy.She was strong, his beautiful young Queen.She had waited until the proper time came, and she was strong enough to break free of the Duchess and Conroy.But he also knew he had to convince her that everything they had said was a lie.When he thought of the gaping holes that they had purposely left in her education—

“I most emphatically agree, Lord Melbourne,” replied his Queen with a smile.“Now, I believe you said that I must call this place whatever I wish.”

“I did, Ma’am.”

“Then I still think we have quite a bit more of this palace left to explore....Lord M.”

And oh. _OH_. _Oh no_.Her beautiful smile was teasing, almost...beguiling, as she bestowed upon him a nickname that immediately made a maelstrom of emotion swirl through him.

Theirs would never be a normal relationship between Prime Minister and Queen.Or even Queen and Private Secretary.

And God help him, he liked it.This beautiful, cheeky young woman teasing him- he loved it.He _wanted_ to be her Lord M.

His face ached from muscles unused, but he couldn’t help smiling at his Queen. 

As William Lamb smiled, one overwhelming thought rang throughout his mind.

_  
I’m in so much trouble._


	3. Riding Out

As large as Buckingham Palace was, it seemed to have eyes.It also had ears- Mama, Sir John, the ever-irritating Lady Flora, and the servants were everywhere.Servants that would undoubtedly report back to Sir John for a six-pence.As always, Victoria had almost no one she could trust.

So they would ride out together, she and Lord M.Not only did she adore the exercise, but only then could they be free from all the ears of the Court.They would discuss many things, both business and personal. 

He always looked so handsome in his riding clothes, and she had never seen a man look so well on a horse.

“Mama came to see me this morning.She thinks I should not always be guided by you.”

“Perhaps she’s right,” sighed Melbourne.

“What do you mean?”

“I should not be your only advisor.”

“But why not?” she persisted.

“We are so often in each other’s company.We ride out most days.I dine at the palace nearly every night. It could be misconstrued.”

“It matters not,” Victoria said, shaking her head.“I trust you as I trust no other, Lord M.Everyone else always seems to have their own motivation.They always have.”

“And I do understand, Ma’am.”

She cut her eyes over to him and broached the subject that she had been secretly longing to discuss with him.

“I wonder that you have not married again, Lord M.”

“My wife died a few years ago and I’ve never been able to replace her.She was not a model wife by any means, but she was enough for me.”

“You did not mind she ran away with Lord Byron?”

“Yes, I minded.”The pain behind his voice lanced Victoria’s heart.

“You did not disown her.I think I would find such behavior hard to forgive.”

“Perhaps you are too young to understand.”

Victoria normally hated when people brought up her age because they used it as a means of dismissing her, but she did not feel that was Lord M’s motivation in using it now.

“No, I don’t think that’s it, Lord M.I think that being a woman, I would need to always be able to trust my husband.I can’t ever risk him not being there for me during the Time, you see.”

Melbourne smiled at her.“So you do understand, Ma’am.”

“What do you mean?”

“Lord Byron never made any promises to my wife, Your Majesty.I did.And he left her behind.Caro had need of me again.”

“Mama and Uncle Leopold have it in mind that I should marry my cousin Albert,” said Victoria sourly.

“I trust his head is at least normal size, Ma’am.”

“Hmph, Lord M.It is quite possible for one’s head to be physically of normal circumference but too big for their body all the same.”She then imitated her mother’s German accent.“‘But Drina, we have planned this from your cradles!You know that you have no soulmark!’She criticizes my every move, Lord M, by asking me ‘What would dear Albert think?’”

“Lord M,” Victoria’s voice was quiet now.“I get so tired of not having choices.I know I have to marry.But if I must marry, I want to love him enough that it doesn’t matter that I’m not soulbonded to him.I want to love the man I wed as though I am bonded to him, you see. I am quite sure that Cousin Albert isn’t that man, Lord M.I have a little over a year left before I must marry, and I’d like to choose for myself.I’ve spent my whole life never having a choice in anything.”

“Ah yes, Your Majesty.That reminds me.Sir John practically laid in wait for me to critique your new ladies.He accused me of making you a Whig puppet to achieve my own gains.”

At this Victoria let out a most unladylike snort.“You, Lord M?Your own gains?You’re the only person I’ve ever known who has never sought to use me.Sir John is just cross that I didn’t use Lady Flora’s list of boring Tory spies.No doubt they’d run to Mama and Sir John if I so much as sneezed.”

“I think I made him very cross with me, Ma’am.I did point out you had never been permitted to choose your own companions.”

“Or anything else,” replied Victoria dryly.

“Would you like to walk for a bit, Ma’am?”

“I think I’d like that very much, Lord Melbourne.”

Victoria’s breath caught for a moment as she watched Lord M sling his right leg over his mount’s head and slide gracefully to the ground.She had never seen a man dismount a horse in such a fashion and it never failed to transfix her.They had walked, of course, on a couple of occasions.But each time he helped her down from her horse, her heart beat faster as he effortlessly lifted her from her mount.Then they were walking together, as their horses followed, among the beautiful turning leaves.

She was impossibly beautiful as she rode beside him in her green riding habit.This was his favorite part of the day, riding out with his Queen.No schedule to uphold.No spies.They could be unguarded with each other and his confrontation with Sir John today had reminded him of a topic he had been waiting to ask her about.

As Melbourne helped her down from her horse, his hands at her unbelievably tiny waist, he was sharply aware of how exquisitely well-proportioned she was.Her weight was as nothing as he lowered her to the ground and he struggled not to breathe too deeply of her lovely scent.

He knew he was increasingly attracted to his young Queen and it was too late for him to stop it.But he also knew that the time they spent together was happiness that they had both come to rely on.For the Queen, he was beginning to realize that her friendship with him was the only happiness she had ever chosen for herself.

“If I may ask, what did happen at Kensington, Ma’am?You’ve always made it was clear that it was very unhappy for you.”

“It was...so terribly lonely, Lord M.And smothering.You may wonder how something can be both lonely and smothering.But after Feodora married, I had no companions at all.As for the smothering, I never had my own rooms.I had to sleep with Mama or on some occasions, with Lehzen.Sir John serves my mother, if you understand my meaning.”Victoria tried and failed to suppress a shudder.

“I do, Ma’am,” answered Melbourne, fully comprehending.

“I was never so much as permitted to take the stairs on my own, Lord M.”

At this, Melbourne’s eyebrows went up.He already had had to calm himself after Sir John’s absurd inferences. 

“And that’s what you meant when you said Sir John was hovering about,” said Melbourne slowly.“No privacy for a young girl entering womanhood.Much less the future monarch.He wanted to cripple you, make you wholly dependent upon him...”

“And Mama,” Victoria nodded. “The first thing, the very first thing I did as Queen, was order everyone away for awhile.It was a relief, but still so lonely.Then you came.”

She laid her hand lightly on Melbourne’s arm, and deep within the blue depths of her eyes, he found his own truth as well.She made him better.She made his life lighter, brighter, and far less lonely.

  
  


Tomorrow night was her Coronation Ball.It would be the first grand gathering to be held at Buckingham Palace since she ascended to the throne.It was also her very first party she would attend as a woman, and her very first ball.

Thank God all the deficiencies in her education did not extend to dancing!For once, her mother and Lehzen were in agreement on something and that something was that all young ladies should be exquisite ballroom partners.So all the appropriate masters had been hired and she had shown a natural aptitude, even earning compliments from her normally critical mother.

Her ladies were all whispering about the Russian Grand Duke who was to attend the festivities, but Victoria was so uninterested that she could hardly be bothered to remember how to address him properly.

For there was only one man she wished to impress tomorrow evening.For she wished for him to notice her as never before.In the privacy of her thoughts, she was coming to think of him as her Lord M, and she was sure nothing that Russia had to offer could possibly compare to his handsomeness.

Her Lord M was so wonderfully masculine, but never used his masculinity to make her feel inferior because she was a woman.He was tall, and yet he never used his height to try and frighten or intimidate her.She felt he was beginning to feel protective towards her, but he was no less kind and gentle.She wanted to forget about being short and plain, and be the kind of woman that would catch his eye.

Her life had been so full of other people making all of her choices, and Lord M was the first choice she had ever been able to make for herself.She intended to see that he stayed at her side for a very long time.She took a last look at the gown she would wear tomorrow night, pleased. She must look her very best if she wished for her Lord M to ask her to dance with him.

For the first time in many months, Melbourne had found himself back in his chair with a brandy.Dreams ofsweat-slicked, satiny skin and the fragrance of jasmine in twisted bed linens had made him bolt from his uneasy slumber.

How would he bear the ball this evening, watching her turn her heart-stopping smiles on other men, granting them her hand in a dance?He wished to stalk across the ballroom and dance each and every dance with her himself.He wished-

It was highly improper what he was beginning to wish for, and yet the very thought was beginning to occupy his thoughts, whether he was awake or asleep. 

He was beginning to feel an uneasy anger each time the name of Prince Albert was brought up.It was as the Queen had indicated- that the Duchess of Kent was extremely keen on the match and used the Prince’s opinion to attempt to influence the Queen into a strict decorum.

The Queen was very young, but the last thing she needed was for her mother to browbeat every ounce of her personality out of her for the sake of a dull husband.Melbourne had never met the Prince, but he felt that if this was what he expected of his wife, then he was very ill-suited to the Queen.First cousins ought not marry, anyway.

Today, however, Melbourne was torn between his past and his present as he mournfully stared at a tiny miniature of baby Augustus and Caro.His boy, gone forever- today was the anniversary of his passing.A seizure from which he had never awoken.

Melbourne knew that society looked upon him as an eccentric for keeping his son so close when others of their class would have had him locked away.But on that important point, he and Caro were of one mind.It mattered not that he was imperfect.Augustus was his boy, and therefore he loved him.

His reverie was broken by the appearance of his butler.

“It is a message from Lady Portman.She says she is aware of what day it is, but the Queen is asking for you.”

Melbourne nodded his acknowledgment before ordering coffee sent to his chambers.Finally, he kissed the lock of dark hair bound with blue satin ribbon with a sigh and placed it in his keepsake box.


	4. Shall We Dance

Victoria found herself most unsettled.Even though as the Queen she could always dictate the time of such gatherings, she felt that she was being unacceptably late. 

Where was Lord M?He had not yet arrived at the palace.

It seemed that it was one thing after another was destined to spoil her evening.After all the months she had denied herself at table, hoping that her dashing Prime Minister would take more notice of her if she were slimmer; why must she finally reap results tonight?Jenkins and Skerrett were working desperately, making last minute alterations to her gown.

As the final touches were finally put on her hair, she turned to Lady Portman.“Where is Lord M? I do not wish to walk in without him.”

A pensive look crossed the face of her lady-in-waiting before she answered.“I’m sure he will be here soon, Ma’am.”

Resigned, Victoria and Lady Portman finally joined her mother’s party to enter the ball.

“Drina,” chirped the Duchess of Kent. “How charming you look.”

Charming.Never beautiful, or even pretty.Merely charming.A word you used politely, when describing one’s country estate. Never enough for her mother. Never loved enough.Always plain, always plump.Even now, looking her very best, she was only charming.

This night was turning out to be nothing as she hoped.

“But remember,” cut in Sir John. “You’re not only here to enjoy yourself.All the ambassadors will be here, plus of course the Grand Duke.The world will be watching.”

Why had Mama chosen him to serve her in her Times?To assist her in all else?To even act as stepfather to her?

Mama was adding to the litany of must-nots, but Victoria heard no more.Where was Lord M?Had she made him angry, sending a message through Lady Portman?

Incandescently, catastrophically beautiful. Those were the words that came to mind as William Lamb watched his Queen dance with the Grand Duke.His sadness was soothed as he watched her eyes light upon seeing him watching her, and then again as she continued to look for his gaze upon her.Melbourne’s uneasiness at seeing her dance with another man was further assuaged at the evidence of how uninterested she was in his company.

“You have been missed,” observed Lady Portman, as she came to stand beside him.

“She seems to managing quite well.”

“What were you thinking, William?” she hissed.“She’s been nervous as a cat all evening, looking for you and those vultures surrounding that mother of hers aren’t helping.Drumming up their own list of ‘thou shalt nots’ for the Queen, while what they really mean is they don’t think she’s capable.William?”

Melbourne’s heart rate accelerated as he watched the Grand Duke roughly whisk the Queen off into another dance, this time a waltz.His eyes narrowed as he watched them twirl around the dance floor, concerned as Victoria looked slightly bewildered by his aggressive manner.His breath quickened slightly, seeing the alarm on her face and he clenched and unclenched his hand.

“William?”

“I’m sorry, Emma, “ Melbourne replied, remembering himself. “You were saying?”

“Are you going to watch her all night?”

One corner of Melbourne’s mouth turned up as he answered, eyes still following her around the room.“She’s completely artless, of course.She no sooner has a thought than she expresses it.She’s too impulsive for a queen.”

Emma looked at her old friend, not missing the near-rapture on his face as he described her.

“And yet.” 

Melbourne’s concentration went back to her, his beautiful girl-Queen and he longed to be with her, leading her around in the floor in a waltz, where he could look his fill at her and inhale her lovely scent of jasmine.But he was her Prime Minister.He was old enough to be her father. 

He could hardly bear to be in the same room as she danced with the young Grand Duke, looking so exquisitely gorgeous in her ball gown.Yes.He wanted.He wanted to stake his claim, to dance with her, then sweep her away into a darkened corridor and make her dizzy with his kisses until she forgot any man except him existed.Then he would-

“William!”whispered Emma harshly.“You are.... _snarling_.”

The Grand Duke’s hand had slid lower on Victoria’s slim figure until it was very nearly grasping her bottom and he had her pulled far too closely to him.His mouth seemed to practically hover over her neck just below her ear.Victoria seemed to slightly back away from his, her eyes meeting his for the barest moment in a silent plea.

His control snapped.Melbourne saw nothing but a red haze of rage.He started to walk forward but Emma laid a restraining hand on his arm.

“William!You must not!Allow Lord Alfred to intervene,” she pleaded.

As the equerry approached, he was shocked at the terrifying expression of the normally urbane Prime Minister, but looked to Lady Portman who merely nodded to him, resigned, as if she knew what was happening.

“I don’t care what you must do.Get him _away_ from the Queen,” Melbourne growled.

Victoria knew she was inexperienced in the ways of men, but she knew that the Grand Duke was an utter boor.But she could neither appear rude, nor inhospitable as he approached her for another dance, claiming her to be a superior dance partner.It didn’t matter who she danced with, anyway.None of them were Lord M.

He had yet to approach her.Their eyes had met many times since his arrival, and at times she thought he wanted to approach her, but he had remained where he was, speaking quietly with Emma Portman. 

She knew she had already drunk too much champagne.She had had so many ideas in her head about tonight and none of them had happened.Instead she was being manhandled and practically mauled by this Russian lout, who smelled all wrong, not like her Lord M at all.Lord M had not yet asked her to dance.

The Grand Duke was going too far.Not only was his hand inching precariously close to her bottom, his lips were almost ready to graze her neck.She tried to back away from him, but he was far, far too strong.Her eyes met Lord M’s for the briefest moment.

_Help me._

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Lord Alfred Paget approach.

“I beg your pardon, Your Imperial Highness, but there’s a messenger from Petersburg.”

“Tell him to wait,” ordered the Grand Duke.

“I believe, Sir, it is urgent,” pressed Lord Alfred.

Finally the Grand Duke let her go, bellowing in outrage and Victoria, slightly dizzy, picked up another glass of champagne from the tray.She turned around to see yet another man asking her to dance.This time, it was the right man.

He was the most handsome man she had ever seen.She would wager that none of the old men in their youth had compared, and certainly none of the young men now were more handsome than her Lord M.He was beautiful, his chiseled features, his dark curling hair.When he looked at her, she no longer felt plump or plain.She didn’t feel charming.She felt like a queen.She felt beautiful.

When he took her in his arms and swept her into the dance, it was perfection.They fit together perfectly, just as they did in everything they did together.

“I thought you weren’t going to come,” she said.

“I had a matter to attend to.”

“I thought perhaps you were cross with me.”

“With you?” Melbourne scoffed. “Never.”

His scent was always so gorgeous, sandalwood and citrus.But tonight it was overlaid with something new that smelled like cinnamon or clove.It was so intoxicating that she couldn’t help but inhale deeply as they danced.

“You dance so well, Lord M.”

“As do you, Ma’am.” 

The champagne had loosened her tongue, but she couldn’t help it.She had felt these things for months and kept them back for propriety’s sake, but Lord M was everything she had ever wished for a man to be.She had her courage now.

“I wish I could dance with you every night.”

“You are so very young.”

“I am eighteen!Old enough to be Queen.Old enough for everyone to start talking about my marriage. And you are not old, Lord M.”

“If only that were true, Ma’am.”

“Mmm, Lord M,” sighed Victoria dreamily. “You always smell so wonderful.The Grand Duke smelled all wrong.Sometimes I wish I had one of your waistcoats to sleep with so I could smell you then too.”

The music stopped, and Melbourne stepped back and bowed.

“It’s a bit hot in here, Ma’am,” he whispered. “Perhaps we could go out on the balcony?”

She was definitely tipsy, Melbourne thought.But the comment she made while they were dancing made a myriad of emotions run rampant through him.

He knew how fond she was of him.But tonight it was becoming clear that she viewed him as more than a mentor and advisor.He was of two minds about it.

His rational self knew he needed to reestablish boundaries.He knew that they were far too close.

But as a man, he felt quite differently.He wanted her, and the incident with the Grand Duke brought the truth out into the light where he could not escape it.He not only wanted her; he needed her.

He loved being with her, talking to her, riding with her, dining with her.She was a companion to him as no other woman had ever been.She was interested in knowing him, and he knew that sadly, he was the first person who had been interested in knowing her.

God help him, he was becoming obsessed with her sexually.Her beauty tonight blinded him to all other things, and was eager to know if they would be as compatible together in the bedroom as they were in everything else.Somehow he knew that they would be.Just the thought of serving her in her Time made him crazed for her.

But now, as he shepherded his girl-Queen away from her own Coronation Ball before she made a spectacle of herself due to overindulgence, he was again reminding himself of the cold reality of her situation.There was only one way that they would ever be allowed to marry, and it was impossible.

“I’m afraid you’re tired, Ma’am.Perhaps you should retire.”

“I don’t want to retire!I want to dance with you, Lord M!”

She impulsively stood up on the tiptoes of her tiny feet and linked her arms around his neck.

“I meant what I said, Lord M.Every night.”

Melbourne’s breath caught as he bit back a moan.More quickly than he had ever experienced, he had a painful erection pressing against the front of his trousers.He growled as he thought of the Grand Duke’s hands upon Victoria.He wanted.....he wanted to know where that man was sleeping.

Yes.He wanted to know where he was sleeping so he could take Victoria to the room next door this instant and make her scream her pleasure.Taste her and teach her.He knew this position that could make her come so many times- God, yes.Disturb the man’s sleep for thinking he could touch her in such a way.By the time they were done, she would be reeking with-

Her adorable nose nuzzled his jaw.“You smell so good, Lord M.Tonight it’s so strong, though.And it’s almost like cinnamon and spice.”

_She would be reeking with his scent._

**_His scent._ **

Dear God.No wonder he was acting crazed. _He had bonded with her._

“Dance with me, Lord M.”

He was despondent as he took her arms from around his neck.He tried to be gentle.He never wanted to hurt her, ever.

“Not tonight, Ma’am.”

She was looking so much more sober than before as he left her.William Lamb’s heart broke as he realized they were in love with each other, and that without a soulmark, they could not be wed.


	5. A Scandal Evolves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A greater look into this particular society, the role of women, and their sexuality.

With all the resilience of youth, Victoria woke the next morning with only the slightest headache.At first she was upset over Lord M’s departure, but as her head grew clearer, she realized he was fighting how much he wanted her.And he did want her.

Despite being a virgin, Victoria was no fool.She remembered the catch of his breath as she pressed against him, and there was no mistaking the thick column of flesh that lay rigid between them.Her Lord M was aroused by her, was hard for her.Just the thought of it made her flush hot all over, and desire clench low within her. 

She only briefly wondered at how well he could satisfy her needs and then ruefully chuckled at such fleeting skepticism on her part.He was her Lord M- there was nothing he could not do.Somehow she knew he would excel in her bed above all other things- that there was a beautiful body under that beautifully tailored clothing, and that he would know how to kiss, how to touch, how to bring her to climax again and again.

Victoria knew that most couples did not wait for marriage to engage in relations.The imperative of the Time made it necessary for the woman to know that a man would be an acceptable lover.Sexual compatibility was a necessity for a woman- otherwise enduring the Time could be painful.Bonded couples, on the other hand, were generally incapable of waiting; the urge for them was overwhelming.

She had known since her Awakening that her appetite was substantial and that nothing except the deepest love and desire would induce her into marriage.She’d rather sequester herself and suffer as Lehzen did before she found herself in an arranged marriage.

Victoria was a woman with her mind made up.Lord M wanted her.She definitely wanted him.She would just have to show him that she wanted him.

Dressed in her green riding habit, she exited her apartments with a smile, eagerly anticipating her morning ride with Lord M.

“Your Majesty?Might I have a word?”

Victoria’s mood immediately soured.She turned around, pasting on a fake, saccharine smile.

“Lady Flora.Did Mama send you?”

“She has expressed some concerns, Ma’am.”

“Mama is always concerned, Lady Flora,” replied Victoria impatiently.“With what I wear, with the amount I take at table, with my ladies.”

“Your marked attentions towards Lord Melbourne do not go unnoticed, Your Majesty,” cut in Lady Flora with a haughty sneer.

“My attentions towards my Prime Minister are no one’s concern but mine, Lady Flora.Of course Mama and Sir John are ‘concerned’ because Lord M believes in my ability to stand on my own.That I need neither husband, nor mother, nor _unwanted_ surrogate father to guide me.He is my one true ally.”

“And what of his behavior towards the Grand Duke, Ma’am?And whisking you away afterwards?Sir John said you were seen in a drunken embrace with him.”

“Lord Melbourne sent Lord Alfred to rescue me from a boorish dance partner with wandering hands, Lady Flora,” spat Victoria, ardently wishing she were taller.“Then he took me outside because it was warm.You overstep, Lady Flora.Perhaps if you had a husband of your own you would not have time for so many of my concerns.” 

Victoria eyed Lady Flora’s swollen belly with a critical eye. 

“You appear to be with child.And yet we know you are not.You have been my mother’s lady-in-waiting since you were nineteen.Yet you have never had _necessity_ to marry, despite the fact you are now 22.Why is that, Lady Flora?”

The older woman bowed her head in shame, face crimson in embarrassment.

“You have our permission to withdraw.”

“Ma’am, Lady Flora has powerful friends,” Melbourne pleaded. “Tory friends.It would be unfortunate to have a scandal so close to the Coronation.There are those who believe that a girl as young as you is not capable of being Queen.”

“That’s what they all believe, Lord M.Mama.Sir John.Lady Flora.They are spying, Lord M!”Victoria was fuming.She had had such hopes for their morning ride.

“There might be more delicate ways of bringing them to heel than exposing Lady Flora’s very personal embarrassment before the Court.”

“Even if it’s true?” asked Victoria.

“Well, I have no desire to stir up the Tories at the moment.It’s hard enough controlling my own party.But I don’t want you to do something rash.”

“I believe I have a duty here to find out the truth.”

Melbourne motioned for Victoria to stop her horse.He helped her dismount and then tucked her hand securely in his arm as they walked along the path.

“I’m afraid the truth is vastly overrated. Much better to let this all alone.”

“And allow them to continue to try to control me, Lord M? Spy on me?They spent years tormenting me, Lord M.You don’t know the whole of it.I’ll never heal from it, do you understand?”

“Help me understand, Ma’am.As I’ve said, we will find a way to rid you of them.”Melbourne turned to her.“But the problem with a scandal is that the mud does not always stick to the right people.”

“A scandal?” cried Victoria.“Is that all you care about, a scandal?”

“No.It is not, Ma’am.” Melbourne stepped closer to her, the moth drawn to the flame.“And I think you know that.”

Victoria’s blue eyes caught his gaze and he was lost.His eyes widened as he caught her scent.Jasmine, yes.But also the scent of her longing, her desire.Desire for him.He impulsively tossed his hat aside and watched Victoria’s eyes follow its path to the grass and then slowly come back to meet his face.

Softly, so softly, his hand caressed her jaw as his head bent towards hers.He paused a moment, as though to ask permission.

“Yes,” she whispered. “God, yes.”

Then he took her trembling body in his arms and tasted her lips for the first time. 

Melbourne knew nothing but her sweetness and her softness as she hungrily pressed against him, wordlessly begging for more.

“Oh, Lord M!” she cried.Her lips migrated away from his, traveling down his jaw, down to his neck, tongue, daringly darting out to taste him and he moaned his pleasure as her teeth grazed his skin.

He lifted Victoria off the ground as he held her close to him, this time his tongue tentatively exploring her mouth.

“Oh God, my darling girl.” He groaned, not knowing how to control the desire raging through him.

He was everything she had ever dreamed of.No, he was far more.She was ready for him, here and now.She would let him have her, right here in this clearing, if it meant he could be hers forever. 

All she wanted was more...MORE of him as she pressed against him desperately.She felt his own desire against the skirts of her riding habit, given that they were not as cumbersome as the usual hoops she wore.She wanted to slide her hand down and feel that impressive bulge.Was he as large as he seemed?Would he be gentle with her?Or would he be deliciously rough as he took her, his eyes boring into hers as he thrust into her deeply?

And he smelled soooo good.It felt like his scent was all for her, just for her as she inhaled his neck before allowing her teeth to graze his neck.Her darling Lord M!

She was so sweetly responsive in his arms, and his desire for her was raging out of control.He wanted her.He was painfully ready for her.He was already gauging his surroundings for a tryst before he realized he could never return her in such a state.She deserved more than just a frolic in the grass, besides.

He backed away from her, panting.

“Not here, Ma’am.”Melbourne forced a laugh.“I could not take you back before the court with mussed hair and a dirty habit, you realize.”

Victoria pouted, her lips bee-stung from his kisses, and it was all he could do not to return to her sweet lips again and finish what they had begun.

His control was lost where she was concerned.Only last night he had resolved to allow things to go no further between them, and now he had been kissing her.If he were completely honest, he was planning on doing it again. 

They both mounted their horses and rode back towards the palace, occasionally exchanging smiles as they did so.

Lord M was right.Perhaps Lady Flora’s malady was her own private affair and no one else’s.It was, however, considered a wild anomaly for a woman not to experience her Time.They were considered outcasts and spoken of in hushed voices.

But nothing could stop the wild joy that beat in Victoria’s heart after her morning ride with her Lord M.The way he kissed her, touched her!It was so much more than right; it was sublime.

Victoria knew she was starved for touch and affection courtesy of her cold upbringing.She desired her marriage to give her all of the love she had been denied growing up, plus the passion she refused to live without.It was why she flatly refused the notion of an arranged marriage with her cousin Albert.She needed a man who could satisfy all of her needs and she was coming to believe that Lord M was the only man who could. 

Victoria had a general rule of thumb when thinking of a man she might be attracted to.She thought of them sleeping together, entwined and unclothed, not for pleasure, but just for closeness.She knew she would need that from the man she married.So far, her Lord M was the only man who had passed that mental test as well.

Light of heart, she started for her quarters when she was confronted with Sir John.

“Your Majesty.”

His bow was the very slightest that protocol dictated, and entirely insincere.

“Sir John.”Victoria’s reply was equally cold.

“Neither I, nor Lady Flora have received a card for the Coronation,” he snarled without preamble. “Surely I thought it was a mistake- that the closest companions of the Duchess would never be snubbed in such a fashion.”

“But you’re not my closest companions, Sir John.You always did mistake your position in my mother’s household to be worth more to the Crown than it really was.”

“This is an outrage and an insult!You will issue an invitation immediately!”Sir John was in fine form, using all of his old tricks of height and temper to intimidate.

Victoria swallowed her fear down and turned hate-filled eyes up to him.“I will not.I do not wish for you to be there.”

An iron grip encircled her arm. “Oh, Drina.Such a valiant try to summon your courage.But your knight has departed for the evening, I’m afraid.He did all of his good work upon his ride this morning with you, hmm?”

A silky chuckle.“Don’t you know that we know all about you and your precious Lord M, Drina?”

“You will call me ‘Your Majesty,’ Sir John,” Victoria said in a trembling voice. “And you will let me go.I am no longer a child.”

“Yes, it’s very clear that at least one regards you as not being a child....Your Majesty.”Sir John’s voice dripped with venom. “And you will send the invitation.”He loosened his grip and Victoria jerked away from him, rubbing her arm.

“I will not.You see, Sir John.In your haste to threaten me with scandal, you’ve failed to remember one thing.I am Queen.Your presence at Buckingham is mine to endure...or not.Bear that in mind the next time you threaten me or anyone else under my protection.”

Victoria left him no time to even sketch a phony bow.She made all haste for her chambers and knocked on Lehzen’s door. Her eyes were blazing with barely controlled rage.

“I wish for you to send for Sir James Clark.”


	6. Truth and Discoveries

It was done.

Lord M had warned her about scandals and mud.But he had not warned her about truth and discoveries she might not wish to make.Even if they were in regards to Lady Flora.

Her Coronation had gone well.The Crown had not fallen off her head and her beautiful Lord M was next to her, pride and affection shining plain on his face.

But it was almost immediately tempered by Sir James Clark’s report on Lady Flora.She was indeed _virgo intacta_ , a hallmark of a woman of such an age who had not yet been through her Time. Even a celibate woman who came to her Time with an intact maidenhead almost always had it broken with the powerful, painful contractions that would commence.And the swelling in her belly was believed to be the result of a tumor.Her recent pallor was believed to be cancer.

Her desire to humiliate Lady Flora had instead humbled and ridiculed Victoria.She was reviled in the newspapers.

Victoria was playing cards when Lord M came in and asked for a word with her.

“I’m sorry, Ma’am.I’m afraid it couldn’t wait.Flora Hastings has taken a turn for the worse.”

“I should have listened to you, Lord M.I should have done nothing.”Shame flooded Victoria anew.

“It is always easier to give advice than it is to follow it., Ma’am.”

“No, it was more than that,” she replied, shaking her head.“I wanted to bring them to heel.I had decided to let it lie.And then Sir John confronted me.I’m afraid, Lord M.”

“I know, Ma’am.But I also know how much courage you have.”

Three days later, Victoria was taking tea with Harriet when her mother burst in upon them, hysterical with grief.

“My poor Flora is dead!”

“Oh Mama,” Victoria said with sincerity. “I am sorry.”

“So you should be,” reproved the Duchess.“You drove her to her grave!”

Embarrassed and flustered, Harriet left the room with a hasty curtsey.

“I went to see Lady Flora, to apologize.”

“You sent doctors to humiliate a dying woman!”

“I am sorry, Mama. I see now that I was mistaken.” Victoria knew there she was nothing else she could say.She had not liked Lady Flora, but she had not truly wished her ill.How she wished she had never ordered the doctors to examine her in such a humiliating fashion out of spite!

But the Duchess would not be appeased.“This is all Lord Melbourne’s fault!He told you to do this!”

Victoria could not let this point stand.“No, Mama.This is all my fault.Lord M counseled me not to do it.He told me there was nothing good that could come of it.”

“Then what purpose does he serve as an advisor, Drina?This would not have happened if you had only allowed Sir John to advise you as we planned!”

“How can you be so blind, Mama?How can I allow someone who cares so little for me to be my advisor?”

“Oh, Drina-“

“You have always said that you have wanted to protect me, but you have never protected me from him.Every time he laughed at me for being short, you laughed with him!Every time he told me I was young and foolish, you agreed!But then ever since I can remember, you always looked at him first, then me.”

“My poor Drina.You’re not yourself.You cannot continue like this.”

Victoria’s mother had done this before, quite successfully during her childhood.Not now.

“Oh no, Mama.Not this time.You do not get to behave as though I’m on the verge of some sort of hereditary madness for expressing my feelings, not again! You will not paint Sir John as some sort of martyr when you and I both know what he did to me, Mama!And he will never be my advisor. _Never_.You may leave us.”

At first the Duchess looked as if she were going to protest the dismissal.Then with a final sour look at her daughter, she turned and left.

The day was bright, but to Victoria, it may as well have been a downpour.

_You did not act like a Queen._

_To be a queen, you must be more than just a little girl with a crown.You have responsibility for your subjects.They are not dolls to be played with._

Lady Flora had been right.She had not acted like a Queen.

“Good morning, Ma’am.”

“Come,” he cajoled. “There are three regiments waiting, I believe.”

“I can’t,” whined Victoria despondently.“I can’t do it.Everything is ruined.It’s all my fault.”

Melbourne sat down next to her on the piano bench, taking her small hand in his own large one.

“I don’t believe I ever told you why I was late to the Coronation Ball,” he began softly. “Did you know I had a son?Augustus.And that day was his birthday.”

“When Caro ran away, he became very afraid of the dark.He would only go to sleep if I was holding his hand.Funny thing is, I don’t think I was ever happier than I was than on those nights when I was sitting there, feeling my little boy drift off.When he died, I thought there was no point to my existence. “

“Lord M, how can you say that?”

“I no longer feel that way, Ma’am. I thought I would never find any solace.But then I became your Prime Minister, and I think, I hope, your friend.Of course, nothing will ever bring my boy back, but through you, I’ve been given a reason to continue.”

Melbourne cupped her cheek, tipping her face upwards to look at him.

“You must do the same.You must go out and you must smile. You must smile and wave and never let them know how hard it is to bear.”

Time passed. Victoria waved.She eventually smiled again, too.For she had her Lord M at her side.He rarely left her side, and that pleased Victoria greatly.They rode together, dined together.She sketched him in the evenings.They sat up well into the nights laughing and joking and becoming even closer friends than they were before the Coronation.

There was always the undercurrent of more that they both wanted.And Victoria was determined to have it.She trusted him.She loved him, and her desire for him as a man was becoming more intense by the day.She was becoming increasingly focused on him, and sometimes allowed her thoughts to wander to him.

She wished she bore his soulmark.That there was a clear sign on her body that she belonged to him.She wondered what it would look like if she had one.Some women had stars, birds, music notes, even lines of poetry.She fancied it didn’t matter whether or not she did, that she was attached to him just as fiercely nonetheless. 

Victoria’s fantasies of him were running rampant.She wanted to see him disheveled, with those gorgeous curls of his mussed by her own fingers.She wanted to unbutton his shirts and bare what had to be a beautiful chest to her eyes and hands. 

If she were honest with herself, she wanted far more.She wanted them naked, entwined in her linens, sharing each other’s breath, lost in mutual pleasure.She had heard all the tales of her Lord M.Victoria was certain he would satisfy her as no other man could.She couldn’t even think of another that way.None of the princes paraded before her garnered any interest at all, and she was bored to tears with her mother’s constant chatter about “dear Albert.”

This morning, she had particular plans for their ride out.Ones that did not include their usual riding path.Victoria had Skerrett style her hair in a long, loose braid.She had some light refreshments packed, as well as a couple of blankets.It was the middle of May, and the weather was bright and sunny. 

This morning his Queen wore a secret smile as they rode down their usual path.Sometimes they talked endlessly, and others they were just content with each other’s company.Her hair was different, too.Victoria had left it in a loose braid that made him itch to run his fingers through it and spread it down across her shoulders.He had seen it loose once, for a brief moment- the day of her coronation.She was every bit his darling girl as she began to wash Dash, still wearing her pristine white gown and jewels, only stopping to loosen her hair.

She began to veer away from the path and looked towards him with a smile.

“Where are you going, Ma’am?”

“I rode ahead of my ladies the other day when you were detained at the House.I found this spot and I wanted to show you.”Victoria’s eyes practically danced with conspiratorial glee.

Victoria grew more excited as she led them towards their destination.It was a small pond, surrounded by lush grass and wildflowers. 

Melbourne felt his heart quicken as his Queen had clearly brought them here to be alone, secluded from the eyes of the Palace.She had taken his arm, he had clasped her hand, but they had not revisited the dizzying kisses they had shared since the morning after the Coronation Ball.That embrace had kept him awake many nights, had made him resort to shameful self-relief, and anticipation stirred in his groin now as he helped Victoria dismount.

How many nights had they passed in laughter, in conversation, sometimes heavy with meaningful looks?They were so deeply attuned to each other that sometimes Melbourne wanted to take her, strip her, and find out for himself whether the Queen had a soulmark.He was bonded to her, at her mercy, unable to do anything except her bidding.And she responded to him as a bonded soulmate would in every way.

_Dear God, he needed to stop thinking about stripping her naked!_ She was spreading a blanket on the grass. _He could bear her down, raise her skirts- damnation!_ Resigned to painful restraint, he joined her on the blanket.

They shared a simple luncheon of bread, cheese and fruit, washing it all down with wine.Both of them had discarded their hats and Melbourne had also removed his coat.

“It’s so beautiful here, Lord M,” said Victoria with a sigh.“The weather, the scenery, the company.”

“The company?” said Melbourne with a derisive snort.“My company is most beautiful.”

“Surely you must know what a beautiful man you are!I’ve seen a great many since the day you sprinted up the steps at Kensington, you see.And none of them compare to you, Lord M.Not in face, not in fine figure, not in manners.Each one I find wanting in comparison to you.”The sincerity in Victoria’s voice was a balm to Melbourne’s long-wounded heart.

He gave her one of his private smiles he reserved for her alone.“And you, darling girl!You are the most beautiful girl at Court! What you see in an old man like me, I’m sure I’ll never know.”

“You are not old, Lord M.Don’t you know that a young man just couldn’t be like you?”Victoria’s face grew serious. “It makes me want you all the more.”

Melbourne’s heart stopped as Victoria loosened her braid, allowing her hair to flow down past her waist, like a curtain of silk.She held her arms out to him and helpless to resist her call, he lowered her down to the blanket.

He tried to keep things slow, tried to keep their kisses from becoming hot blooded and full of lust, but they had been coming back to this point for weeks.Melbourne knew that the fact he was bonded to Victoria made things difficult in keeping things semi-chaste.His body was overwhelmed with the instinct to join with her, to mate, mark, claim her for his own.Then there was Victoria’s own considerable drive. 

“God, Victoria!I’m so ready for you, darling girl!” He was overwhelmed by her.No woman had ever felt so right in his arms and his resistance was clearly wearing down. “It’s all I can do not to raise your skirts and bury myself in you.”

“Please, Lord M!I want you to.So much.It has to be you.I can’t think of another man.Only you, my Lord M.”Victoria rubbed against his stubble, drowning in his scent.

“I’m your Prime Minister!Your Private Secretary!Victoria, it’s not proper for me to embark on a sexual relationship with you.”

“Well, you’re dismissed then.And send for the Duke of Wellington!If it means I can have you in my bed!Oh, my darling Lord M!Don’t you know by now how I feel?”Victoria reached up and untied his cravat.“I want you during my Time, Lord M.For you to take me over and over—“

With a wild cry, Melbourne ground his mouth into hers, taking, conquering.“The mere thought of you in your Time makes me crazed,” he rasped.His hand slid up under her skirt.“Be sure this is what you want, Your Majesty.”

“Yes!So very much!I ache inside for you when I think of your kisses, your arms around me.I want more.”

Melbourne finally slid his fingers inside the slit of Victoria’s drawers, and moaned when he found her drenched and swollen for him. She cried out against his mouth when he found his prize, and began to expertly slide his fingers against her swollen bud as she writhed underneath him, her eyes dark with lust.

“Oh God, Lord M!”

“Yes, my darling!I want you to come apart for me, Victoria.Scream for me, beautiful girl.Let go, love.”

It was all Melbourne could do not to spill his seed at the sight of his beautiful girl, her head thrown back and her face flushed as she cried out her name for him again and again.

Finally, as Victoria caught her breath and came down from her high, she pulled Melbourne close to her and began unfastening the buttons.

“Hell take all this clothing, Lord M.I want to feel all of you!”She inhaled deeply, rubbing her face against his exposed neck and chest. “You smell so good!”

“Are you sure this is what you want?”His control was rapidly unraveling. “You are so small, Victoria.I cannot bear to hurt you.”

“You could never hurt me, Lord M,” replied Victoria with certainty.“Never.And I want all of you!”

Melbourne groaned as Victoria’s hands went to the front of his breeches and began to unfasten them-

When there was a loud snap of a twig breaking.It was not one of their horses, for it came in the opposite direction.

Melbourne bolted to his feet, only to see a young man begin to bolt in the opposite direction.He might have tried to catch him, but he had removed his boots.

He came back to the Queen, who looked at him with a thunderous expression.

“Sir John,” she spat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry. Yes, I have a cat. No, I don’t pet him with an evil expression on my face. Mostly.


End file.
